Lisa Gade compares the 13” Retina MacBook Pro (2015) and the HP Spectre x360 laptops. The 13” Retina MacBook Pro released in early 2015 with Intel Broadwell inside and Apple’s new Force Touch trackpad
The design and casing are identical to the last gen model, as is the 2560 x 1600 IPS display. What’s new here are Intel Broadwell Core i5 and i7 CPUs, and as per usual, the 13” Pro gets 28 watt CPUs that are faster than Ultrabook 15 watt CPUs. It has Intel Iris 6100 graphics for a boost over last year’s model and the SSD storage is twice as fast. The Mac starts at $1,299 for the 2.7GHz Core i5-5257U with 8 gigs of RAM and 128 gigs of storage. All models have dual band WiFi 802.11AC, Bluetooth 4.0 and a backlit keyboard. Full Review Here
the HP Spectre x360 Windows 8.1 convertible 2-in-1 13.3” Ultrabook with a 360 degree hinge. The Spectre x360 starts at $899 and it features a CNC machined aluminum unibody design, backlit keyboard, oversized trackpad and a 1080p IPS display with bonded glass (2560 x 1440 is also available). It weighs 3.2 lbs. and is slim and very attractive looking. It’s available with Intel Broadwell 5th generation Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs and most configurations (in the US) have 8 gigs of RAM. The laptop has an SSD drive, dual band Intel 7265 WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth and stereo speakers with DTS audio. The Spectre x360 supports the HP Active Pen (Synaptics technology), though you'll have to buy the pen separately. We look at the Core i7 model with the 1080p IPS touch screen, 8 gigs of RAM and a 256 gig SSD that lists for $1,149
